Do you wake up with an excruciating headache each morning? Intense head pain can stop you from having a productive day. If you experience frequent headaches or migraines and can’t seem to get relief from over the counter medication, you may be suffering from TMJ disorder.

You lower jaw is connected to your skull by two temporomandibular joints, found on either side of your face. Overworked jaw joints can cause you to feel neck and shoulder stiffness and frequent migraines and headaches, especially in the temples. Knoxville, TN dentist Dr. Jack Haney offers patients a possible solution for this unwanted pain.

If medication doesn’t fix your headache, you may be suffering from TMJ disorder. Schedule an appointment with Dr. Haney in Knoxville, TN. Non-surgical TMJ treatment may be able to ease your head pain. Call 865-693-6886.

Why Are My Joints Hurting?

Your joints need time to relax, when they don’t get the proper relaxation, they become overworked and create tension and pain. Your temporomandibular joints can become overworked in your sleep when you continuously grind or clench your teeth. Most TMJ sufferers don’t realize that they’re grinding their teeth at night; therefore, they can’t explain the reason for their headaches.

It isn’t uncommon for TMJ pain to cause stiffness in the neck and shoulders, numbness in the fingers, muscle spasms, or a clicking or popping sound when opening your mouth. Many patients who have TMJ disorder are misdiagnosed due to the confusing symptoms that often seem unrelated to facial pain.

TMJ and Sleep Apnea

TMJ is often associated with sleep apnea, a breathing disorder. The most noticeable sign of sleep apnea is snoring. While you’re sleeping, your airway can become blocked, reducing or stopping airflow. This causes your body to wake itself throughout the night, affecting your ability to get a good night’s sleep. Sleep apnea is common and associated with TMJ pain because bruxism occurs in both disorders.

Sleep apnea and TMJ pain can be treated by Dr. Haney with a customized plastic mouth guard that is worn throughout the night. The guard fits comfortably in your mouth to reduce teeth grinding. This gives your jaw joints time to relax during the night, which in turn reduces your headaches and stiffness. The plastic mouth guard also holds your jaw in a more suitable position, which allows for an unobstructed airflow, relieving sleep apnea.

Non-Surgical Headache Treatment

TMJ pain can be managed at home, however these methods don’t always produce the most beneficial outcomes. To ease pain, you can apply ice or heat on sore jaw joints. The combination of heat and ice can ease pain, but won’t offer a long-term solution. Dr. Haney provides headache treatment by stimulating tense facial muscles. Stimulation allows your muscles to relax, relieving some of the undesirable TMJ pain.

Exercises can be conducted at home to relax your temporomandibular joints. In our Knoxville, TN office, Dr. Haney can teach you some of these exercises to help reduce your likelihood of experiencing the unwanted headaches.